Our Herd — 350+ Indigenous Cows, 95% Gir

The breed mix

Four desi breeds,
one clear favourite.

We breed only indigenous stock. The Gir is our backbone; three other desi breeds make up the rest of the goshala.

0Gir

A Gir at the goshala, showing the breed’s domed forehead and long pendulous ears

95% of the herd

Gir

You can read a Gir from the head alone: a pronounced domed forehead, and long pendulous ears that fold over into a leaf shape. Originally from the Gir forests of Saurashtra, it thrives in Odisha's coastal humidity and gives the A2-rich, high-fat milk that navodita is built on.

Domed forehead shield
Long, curled, pendulous ears
Horns sweeping back and down
Red to red-and-white mottled coat

A white indigenous cow standing among the Gir herd at the goshala — Not every cow here is a Gir — three other indigenous breeds share the same shed.

The other 5%

Three more desi breeds

The balance of the herd is made up of indigenous cattle from elsewhere in India, kept and bred on exactly the same terms as the Gir.

BinjharpuriOdisha's own registered breed — local, sturdy and adapted to exactly this land.
SahiwalAmong India's best dairy breeds — calm, consistent and long-lactating.
TharparkarDesert-bred in the Thar, drought-tough and a steady, reliable milker.

Why desi cows

What A2 actually means.

Cow milk carries beta-casein protein in one of two forms. Indigenous Indian breeds like the Gir produce almost entirely the A2 variant. Most high-yield exotic breeds produce a mix that includes A1.

Many people who find milk hard to digest are reacting to A1, not to milk itself. That is the practical reason we breed desi — and the reason our customers keep telling us this milk sits differently.

The second reason is simpler: a Gir cow eats what grows here, tolerates the heat, resists local disease and lives a long productive life without constant intervention.